When long-time Saskatchewan Rush head coach Derek Keenan announced he was stepping back from his coaching duties it was a definite surprise for most lacrosse fans in the province.
It was also something of a surprise for Jeff McComb who was immediately announced to take over the head coaching duties.
“In the middle of last year he (Keenan) started talking about it a little bit,” McComb said in a recent telephone interview, adding the Rush boss had a lot of years as player and coach including nine championships. “What more does he have to prove.”
So Keenan leaves the Rush bench after eight years at the helm, highlighted by three NLL championships (2015, 2016, 2018), three Coach of the Year awards (2006, 2010, 2014), and seven consecutive first-place finishes in the West Division. At the start of the 2017-18 season, Keenan became the NLL’s all-time leader in coaching wins, and he completes his tenure with 155 combined regular-season and playoff victories.
But, it was still something of a surprise for McComb, who said one day Keenan just sort of remarked he might be stepping away, and if he did, his offensive coordinator would be handed the reins.
“There was never really anything formal,” said McComb, adding that allowed him “time to settle into it a little bit,” before things went public.
Obviously, given Keenan’s record McComb has the proverbial big shoes to fill, but he said being a head coach in the National Lacrosse League “was kind of what I wanted” at least at some point. He said being an assistant to Keenan and the Rush’s offensive coordinator was something he was certainly satisfied with. “I was happy with my role.”
While this will be McComb’s first head coaching position in the NLL, he has been with the Rush for eight seasons and alongside Keenan at various levels for more than 17 years.
“There’s nobody better to learn from,” said McComb, adding while Keenan would never accept such accolades easily “I think he’s the best that’s ever done it.” He looked at their 17-year relationship as being “a great seat to learn from.”
McComb takes over a team that clearly knows how to win, but also a team facing changes.
That change was exemplified by the trade earlier this summer of star Ben McIntosh who was packaged with three draft choices and sent east to Philadelphia for Josh Currier along with the seventh overall pick in the 2020 NLL Entry Draft.
“Ben (McIntosh) is one of the top players in the league and also one of the top people in the league,” said McComb.
But McIntosh lives in Philly so the deal made sense for him to go home, and in Currier, McComb said the Rush get a guy who “can play inside, can play outside,” with offensive skills that might not match McIntosh but that can fit in with the Rush nicely.
The draft pick is important too, with the Rush having a long list of players headed to free agency after next season, noted McComb.
The new Rush coach is looking forward to a new season after COVID-19 ended the team’s hope of a championship run in the 2019-20 campaign.
McComb said the team was disappointed when they missed winning a trophy in the spring of 2019, and they wanted redemption this past spring.
“With the disappointment of the year before a championship was really the focus of the guys,” he said.
But, will there be a 2020-21 season?
McComb said that is a question on everybody’s mind, adding the NLL is a sport needing fans.
“We definitely need fans from a revenue and economic model,” he said.
In Saskatchewan when the Rush play the fans are most certainly there. McComb said it has been quite a ride watching the fan base grow since some 9000 attended the team’s first home game after its move from Edmonton in 2015.
“It just grew from there,” adding the rabid fan base is one of the things that will help when it comes to keeping free agents in Saskatchewan.
